Monday, October 24, 2011

Microwave Besan Laddoo - thanks Red Chilies

If you have known me even for t-e-n nanoseconds you would know that when there is a microwaveable-done in twenty minutes- besan laddoo versus stove top-arm twisting- back aching-one whole hour-besan laddoo, I will choose the former. If you are the kind who will go for the latter, more power to you and a Happy Diwali in the kitchen. Others, please read on.

I could have cited reasons as this, this and this for my choices but no, the bottom line simply is that I am a very phankibaaj kind and love food especially sweets that can be done short and simple. That is SWEET to me. If the sweet is not going to help me tide over a dinner, a lunch or even a breakfast why should I spend a big chunk of my life making it is my basic principle of life.

No wonder Bhapa Doi, Kalakandand Rosgollar Paayesh holler out to me and get done in less than half hour. Except of coursePaayesh which I stir and stir and then stir some more for over an hour because that is what Mother told me to. Thank God she didn't profess other such time consuming wisdom and left me on my own regarding besan laddoos.

When I had first seen these ravishing plump very 70-ish beauties at Red Chilies(who in turn had found it at Bhaatukli), I wanted to do it right then because me & besan laddoos are insanely in love with each other. But I checked myself. That amount of Ghee deserves a special occasion and what better than one dressed up in lights and crackling with sparklers. So Besan Laddoos it is for Diwali. I did a small test run yesterday and those laddoos blew us away. It is worth all that Ghee and more. The fact that it takes under 20 minutes and one microwave safe dish to wash is a gift that no Dhantaras can ever bring.

I halved Supriya's recipe and so I used 1/2 cup Besan, 1/2 Cup sugar and 3 tbsp of Ghee to make about 6 laddoos.

In a microwave safe bowl or dish mix1/2 cup of Besan with2 tbsp of melted ghee
Make sure that all of the besan is coated in ghee.

Microwave for 2 minutes. beep Beep.

Take out. Careful, it will be hot. Add 1 tbsp of melted ghee and stir mixing it together.

Microwave for 2 minutes. Beep, Beep.

Take it out and by now you will get the nice aroma of besan roasting. The besan will also have turned a deeper shade. Stir gain.

Back in the microwave. This time anywhere between 1 minute to 2 minutes. I did 2. The Besan will have turned a rich nut brown shade and the aroma will make sure that is is cooked through. If you feel besan is raw, add a little more ghee and microwave for one more minute.Besan should not be raw or overcooked.

Now let it cool slightly.
When it is still warm to touch but can be handled add 1/2 cup of fine sugarand 1/4 tsp of Cardamom Powder.
Mix thoroughly with a spatula or with your fingers. As you do this you will feel the mix binding as the sugar melts and mixes with the besan. Do this for about 5 minutes. Supriya says to add more melted ghee , at this point if the mixture is not coming together. But mine did and yours will too.

Now fashion small balls and decorate with raisins, varak or anything that catches your fancy.

I think these Besan Laddoos, sweet and decadent as they are and which I found over ether at a blog which in turn was shared by another blog carries forward the true spirit of Diwali, of giving and sharing and of acceptance that all things good need their Ghee and sugar.

Onek din pore eelam to read your blog. The besan ka ladoo looks nice, soft and easy to make. Will try it sometime. But I need help too. I have signed up for appetizer for a diwali potluck. Give me ideas please !

Those laddoos are in fact delicious. I am making laddoos too a different kind with split green gram. I did spend about 30 minutes roasting the dal this evening and would spend another 30 minutes making them tomorrow evening. I usually scrimp on the ghee but being Deepavali and all I am going full tilt. What say you?

That's definitely a nifty recipe to have! Though the kaddooa seem much moister than besan laddoos I have seen here. And yes I did get the book y'day :-) what a perfect Diwali gift! I'm almost through the book- it's great !

Brilliant Sandeepa, I love besan laddoos and even in Cal we dont get them easily. What we get is Moong ka laddus and I just love your phankibaji recipe. Even I love cooking but spending hours and hours in the kitchen specially before or in Diwali is just too much. I'll definitely try them in the microwave and let you know how it turns out.Happy Diwali........Purba

I was overjoyed by the simplicity of this recipe and started right away on it, only to realize at the umpteenth moment that there is no mention of the microwave power anywhere! Went back to other tagged links and finally found a random "microwave on high".. which proved not to be the "high" on my microwave.

Thankfully, the final outcomes were fairly good on the assumptions of a reasonable heat and time after a total messy first round! Hope to see more of these technical details with a recipe that depends mainly on a device.

I understand your problem. But for someone like me who always uses the MW at full power unless it says explicitly, guess this never crossed my mind.The trouble also comes from the fact that my purpose is not really to teach people perfect cooking steps(heck, I am not that kind), there are much better resources for that. What I think I try to convey is a love for food and cooking and a belief that anyone even a working mom with two kids can still cook sweets on festivals without losing sleep.

Once someone has set out on that road, an adjustment in MW power comes easy :) And messing up is totally ok. I did that even after I made a successful batch the first time.

And finally devices are different, me and the other bloggers I mentioned are home cooks with access to their own MW in their country. So as you said a "HIGH" on one might mean "P-100" on another. I am happy that you figured it out and the final result was delish :)

Wow, these were just like the ones I buy from a good mithai shops. Actually they were better because I used desi ghee and the fact that they were sooo fresh. They are the easiest to make too. Thank you.

Hi Sandeepa,I tried your laddoos today, the first round being totally messy. The besan got burned and in the next round I put more ghee so it tasted nice it was not binding . I put it in a tray and made it into barfis.

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine